If you were one of the many Canadians to receive text messages from "Sue," "Mark," or "Nicolas" asking about the federal carbon tax, you may have been left wondering who's behind these texts and how they got your phone number.

Members of Canada Strong and Proud, a coalition of third-party advertising groups newly incorporated under a federal banner, are behind many of the automated messages, with members already having orchestrated anti-carbon tax text campaigns in Alberta, Quebec and, as evidence suggests, in Ontario.

"Canada Strong and Proud is a new organization actively seeking ways to engage with Canadians about national issues and participate in the federal election," the organization said in a written statement to CTV News, adding that one of the group's goals is to "scrap job-killing carbon taxes."